Feed mechanism for skewer-machines.



No. 733,362. PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

0. P. BECK.

FEED MECHANISM FOR SKEWER MACHINES.

APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 9. 1902.

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PATENTED JULY 14, I903.

0. P. BECK. FEED MECHANISM FOR SKEWER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 9, 1902.

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NO MODEL.

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PATENT O EICE.

OLIVER P. BECK, OF MURPHYSBORO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WOLF, SAYERv AND HELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A FIRM.

:FEED MECHANISM FOR SKEWER-MACHINES.

srEoIFIcArIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 733,362, dated July 14, 1903. Application filed October 9, 1902. Serial No. 126,5 75. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. BECK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Murphysbore, in the county of Jackson and State of 5 Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Feed Mechanism for Skewer- Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming I a part hereof.

My invention has relation to feed mechanism for skewer-machines or woodworking-machines generally; and it consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l isa. front elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an end View. Fig. 4 is a top plan. Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail showing in edge view the vertical pair'of feed-belts, being a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a view looking in the direction of the horizontal arrow from a plane indicated byline 7 7 in Fig. 6, the belt being shown in section. Fig. 8 is a sectional detail of the clutch mechanism; and Fig. 9 is an elevation thereof, but shown in its disengaged position.

The present invention is an improved feed mechanism specially designed for feeding stock to the skewer-machine described in my pending application, filed February 14, 1902,

5 Serial No. 94,072, and while specially applicable to the machine referred to it is to be understood that the present invention can be applied to any class of machines operating on stock similar to that operated on by the skewer-machine aforesaid.

The object of the present invention is to construct a feed which shall entail the minimum amount of labor on the operator in the handling of the stock before it is taken up 5 by the feed-belts, entailing thereby not only a minimum loss of time, butinsuringa maximum capacity for the machine, and since the application of the present feed mechanism is specifically referred to the skewer-machine 5o aforesaid only so much of the latter is herein illustrated as is essential to show the application of the feed mechanism thereto.

In detail the invention may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, F represents the upper portion of the machine-frame upon which the present device is mounted. As in the pending application referred to the cutter-shaft l is operated from the main drive-- shaft, (not herein shown,) the cutter-heads 2 being disposed along said shaft 1 between the series of abutments 3 and the rubber-tired disks 4, between which the stock is gripped during the cutting operation. These parts are herein merely referred to and no detailed description thereof is here attempted,sincethe present invention is concerned only with the feed mechanism up to the point of delivery of the stock to the disks 4 and their cooperating abutments 3. The intermediate connections between the main drive-shaft and the shaft 5, carrying the disks 4, are herein also omitted, since those connections belong to the cuttingmachine proper and have nothing to do with the present feeding attachment. 7 5

Mounted at one end of the shaft 5 is a sprocket wheel 6, over which passes a sprocket chain 7, imparting motion to a smaller sprocket-wheel 8 at the adjacent end of a belt-conveyor shaft 9. I The wheel 8 is So in point of fact secured to the male section 10 of a clutch, the female section 11 being carried by and forming a part of the shaft 9. The male section is free to rotate about the shaft, being operated by a lever 12 andhav- 8 ing a tooth l3, engaging a notch 14 on the machine frame, which notch the tooth is made to engage under the resilient action of a spring 15 when the section 10 is turned to bring the tooth opposite the notch. The 0 wheel 8 is then uncoupled from the shaft and turns without operating the shaft, Fig. 9. When the section 10 is rotated to force the tooth out of the notch, the two sections of the clutch become coupled and rotation is 5 again imparted to the shaft, Fig. 8. However, the form of clutch here described is well known and no claim is made thereto, and as a matter of fact any approved design of clutch could be substituted therefor. 10o

On the shaft 9 are mounted a pulley 16 and pulley 17 17, respectively. Over the former passes a fluted advancing-belt 18, and over the latter pass the conveyer-belts 19 19, the several belts all passing over a rear roller 20 on a shaft 21, as best seen in Figs. 2 and t. The belt 18 is fluted or corrugated, the corrugations or grooves 22 being parallel and disposed transverse to the direction of travel of the belt. At the opposite end of the shaft 9 is mounted a pinion 23, which meshes with a corresponding pinion 24: at the adjacent end of the feed-belt shaft 25, mounted in anvance of and parallel to the shaft 9. Disposed on the latter shaft at points intermediate the pulleys 16 and 17 are pulleys 26 26, over which pass the vertical feed-belts 27, the opposite ends of the belts passing over idler-pulleys 28, mounted at the lower ends of the depending brackets 29, secured to a bar 30 of the framework, the rear surface of the forward lap of each belt 27 bearing for the major portion of its length against a brace-plate 31, likewise secured to the bar 30 bet-ween the arms composing the bracket 29, Figs. 6 and 7. Cooperating with the belts 27 are belts 27, passing respectively over pulleys 32 on the shaft 25 and over idlers 33, carried by brackets 34:, which are secured to the member 35 of the framework. Each pair of belts 27 27 form a feed-couple whose discharge or delivery end is directly above the point of contact between the disk 4 and its cooperative abutment 3, so that the moment the stock is discharged from the belts 27 27 it is immediately seized between the disks 4 and abutments 3 and there subjected to the cutting operation under the action of the knives mounted on the cutter-heads, as in my pending application above referred to.

The belts 18 19 are confined between the walls of a trough T, mounted on top of the table or platform P, forming a part of the general framework, the stock S being confined between the walls of the trough, as is obvious, and the upper laps of the belts traveling over the bottom of said trough. In the drawings (referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 5) the arrows show the relative direction of travel of the mechanism. To the member 35 is secured a yielding guide-strip 36, which guides the stock S as it leaves the belts 18 19 before passing between the feed-belts 27 27'. On either side of the strip 36 are supplemental guides 36. r

The operation may briefly be adverted to as follows: Rotation being imparted to the mechanism, as indicated by the arrows, the operator deposits a handful or more of the stock-piecesS into the trough, distributing them along the grooves 22 of the advancingbelt 18 in the manner indicated in the drawings, the stock being in that position virtually supported by the conveyer-belts 19 19, the upper surface of the latter being substantially on thelevel with the bases of the cortease-2 rugations 22. Though practically all the belts travel at the same speed and jointly serve to convey the stock to the feed-belts 27 27, yet the corrugations are depended on not only to space the stock-pieces evenly and uniformly apart, but to assist in the positive forwarding of the stock as it is conveyed by the belts 19 19. Upon leaving the belts 18 19 the stock immediately drops between the adjacent laps of the feed-belts 27 27, the gripping-surface of said laps beingpreferably covered with a layer of rubber, (not shown,) so that said surfaces may readily conform to any unevenness in the contour of the stock delivered thereto, or the belts may be made of any suitable material which will readily conform to any inequalities in the peripheral surface of the stock. The laps of the belts 27 27, be-

- tween which the stock is thus advanced or fed to the cutter-heads, are not only drawn taut, but, as before stated, the advancing laps of the belts 27 are supported or backed in the rear by the brace-plates 31, so that there is no possibility of the stock deviating from an advance always parallel to the direction of the length of the stock, the latter always traveling parallel to itself and being delivered in i that condition to the gripping-su rfaces formed by the abutments 3 and disks 4.

It is to be understood, of course, that the present feed mechanism is applicable to any class of woodworking-machines. It is further to be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details here shown, as they may in a measure be departed from without in any wise aifecting the nature or spirit of my invention.

. Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a feed mechanism, a series of traveling belts, an advancing-belt having corrugations disposed transversely to the line of travel of the belts, forming amember of said series, a second series of feed-belts disposed at an angle to the first series and located at the delivery end of the latter series,and adapted to seize the stock discharged therefrom, and devices for gripping the stock delivered from the feed-belts, substantially as set forth.

2. A feed mechanism comprising a series of horizontal, traveling conveyer-belts, and a fluted advancingbelt having corrugations disposed at an angle to the line of travel of the belts, and a series of vertically-disposed feed-belts, at the delivery end of the horizontal belts, adapted to seize the stock discharged by the horizontal belts, substantially as set forth.

3. A feed mechanism comprising a series of horizontal conveyer-belts, and a fluted advancing-belt having corrugations disposed transversely to the line of travel of the belts, a series of vertically-disposed feed-belts arranged in pairs, the adjacent laps having suitable supporting-surfaces located in the rear thereof for a major portion of the length the conveyer and advancing belts, supporting-surfaces in the rear of the adjacent laps of the feed-belts, suitable guides at the discharge end of the conveyer and advancing belts, and means for imparting rotation to the shaft of the conveyer and advancing belts, substantially as set forth. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OLIVER P. BECK.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY. 

